Hello. Welcome to
Kicking the Habit.
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My name is Raginee
Edwards and I'll be your host
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for the six-part
series on smoking cessation.
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In this series, we intend
to explore various aspects
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involved with the addiction.
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We look at the personal smoking
history of some former smokers
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and discuss the
triggers, strategies,
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and tools for quitting.
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As a health educator working
in Alamogordo, New Mexico,
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I was approached by a lady
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who worked with
smoking cessation in our county
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and she said, "I
want you to be trained
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to teach quit smoking classes."
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And I said, why?
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I've never even smoked.
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I have no way of associating
or knowing how to identify
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with somebody who has smoked
and wants to quit smoking.
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She said, "Raginee,
I think you can do it.
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I believe in you and
I want to train you."
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I said, "Okay, I'll do it."
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And I went through the training
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and I have to tell
you, I learned a lot.
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One of the
things that I learned,
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I would say the thing
that I learned the most was,
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we can really all
identify with addictions,
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whether it's smoking,
whether it's shopping,
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whether it's eating,
whether it's gossiping,
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we all have some
sort of addiction effects,
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had some
experience with addictions.
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And so I felt, like
I could really identify
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with those who had
smoked, not that I could say,
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I totally identify
with having that situation
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because you can't know
until you've been there,
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so I'm not gonna claim that.
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However, most of the expertise
that even want to claim,
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aside from theories
and programs and education.
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The expertise I claimed
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are what I've
learned from the people
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that I've worked with as
a facilitator for a course,
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it was a 13 week course
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that helped
individuals to quit smoking.
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I learned from their stories,
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I learned from
their experiences.
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And what we want
to share with you
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over the six-part series
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are the experiences of those
who have successfully quit.
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And what we're
going to look at now
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are some friends of ours
Brenda, Isaac, and Kathleen.
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We want to understand a bit more
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why they chose to quit?
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Why they chose to
smoke in the first place?
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What are some tools
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that they used to
maintain smoke-free
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to even quit smoking?
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What was their plan?
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How they do it
and how can you do it?
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The first
question that we asked was
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when and why did you
choose to take that first puff?
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Let's listen to
what they have to say.
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When and why?
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Actually the when was as a child
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walking with other friends
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and just taking a
puff here and there
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because we were
children and that's what we did.
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We just walked
going to the movies
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and bought cigarettes
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because then you could
buy cigarettes as a child.
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And that's when I
first took a smoke
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but that wasn't
when I gain the habit.
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When and why I chose
to take my first puff.
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The first puff of tobacco
I took was really a pipe.
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Yeah, pipe tobacco smelled good.
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So I want to smoke
something besides the cigarette
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so I picked up a
pipe and I smoke a pipe.
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I started smoking in my teens
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and I always heard that it
was good way to manage stress.
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It seemed like it
relieve stress with the people
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I saw smoking.
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Now we've heard those
responses to the question.
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Why did they choose
to take the first puff?
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It was
interesting what Brenda said.
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She started smoking as a child,
just walking with her friends
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and that they
were able to actually
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purchase as children cigarettes
and that sounds crazy to us.
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But just looking at that,
would she have chosen to smoke
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if she couldn't purchase it,
if her friends weren't smoking.
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So those are
factors that we will,
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we can look at to say
that influenced her choice.
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As a child, they've
had no adult supervision,
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there is nobody else with them
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and not only that but it
was under a social setting.
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So they were doing
with their friends.
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Now we didn't ask her
if she did it alone or not,
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but at that age,
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they were doing it together
like a social connection.
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So there we see availability.
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We see the social connectedness
that they had with each other,
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those were
influencing factors for smoking
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for Brenda as she started.
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But then she also mentioned that
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she knew it wasn't a habit.
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We find that a lot
with younger people
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that they may not
smoke on their own or alone,
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they may smoke
two cigarettes a day
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or just on the weekends
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when they're
drinking with their friends
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I found that a lot.
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And they're actually
not considered addicted,
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they're doing it
for just the fun of it.
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And then we look at
Isaac, he is so funny.
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He said that he didn't
have an interest in cigarettes,
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he wanted to smoke a
pipe, it smelled good.
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You know, I talked with
him a little behind the scenes
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and he said, it looked cool.
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So for him it
was the cool factor
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that let him to choose,
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and then we have Kathleen.
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She spoke about
where so many speak
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about the relief of stress.
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She looked around and she saw,
oh, well, it works for them,
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maybe that will work for me too.
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And so she tried it,
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so that, that, those are very
interesting things to consider
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when we're looking at
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why somebody
takes the first puff.
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Why somebody makes the
choice to take the first puff.
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Now the next question
that we asked the participants
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is why did you
continue to choose to smoke?
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Let's hear their responses.
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Well, later on I
chose to continue to smoke
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when I was 14.
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And at that time,
I was actually young,
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pregnant woman at 14.
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And I craved cigarettes.
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So I started to smoke at 14
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and I continued to
smoke for five years.
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And then when I started smoking,
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I just...
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It just became habit for me
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because I
quickly became addicted
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and I did see
some kind of relief.
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And I held on to it even though
I knew that at the same time
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nothing actually was
changing in my situation.
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I graduated from pipe to a cigar
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or is that a graduation,
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I think it's really a step down
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from pipe to
cigar then to cigarette.
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I didn't really
started smoking cigarettes
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until after I
got in the service.
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Now, we heard the
responses to that question,
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why did you continue to smoke.
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Now Brenda pick
back up at the age of 14
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being pregnant smoking.
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I know we all gasp in horror
that one she is pregnant at 14
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and she too she's
smoking on top of that.
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I heard a story once by
a guy who was a director
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for a
residential treatment program
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for those who want to quit
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in these type
of substance abuse.
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And he said,
"Imagine that you're in a pit.
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And there's hardly any air there
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and there's a hole
at the top of the pit
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and there's oxygen there
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and you need to
climb up to get to it."
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And you are gasping for air.
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You would step on your
friend, your mom, your child
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just to get that
breath of fresh air
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and until you have
experienced what it feels like
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to just want to
take a breath of oxygen,
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you have no idea
what it's like to struggle
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with quitting an addiction.
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And that really
bought it home for me
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and when I look at somebody
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like Brenda at 14 pregnant
who knows what the issue
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she was dealing
with as a young teen mom.
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We have to be sympathetic
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to understand that
this is a serious issue.
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Now for her she said,
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"She continued to
smoke for five years."
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Looking at Kathleen, she said,
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"She became addicted
because she felt some relief."
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And she even added that
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even though she knew it
wasn't changing her situation,
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she was looking at the immediate
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I have some relief.
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So she was getting
something out of that cigarette.
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We're looking at Isaac.
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He went from
cigars to or the pipe
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to cigars into cigarette.
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And he talks about doing
this when he was in the service.
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Now, I've gotten a lot of guys,
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I had a gentleman
who was 72 years old
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who smoked ever since he
was in a navy in his 20s.
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And he successfully quit
through one of our programs,
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but it's a very
common thing for guys
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who were in the
service, it was very popular,
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they had smoke breaks,
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smoking times where
everyone just smoked,
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it was something that they did.
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So all of these things
influenced their choice
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to continue to smoke
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these different
situations they're in.
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So let's consider these things
as we interact with people
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or even see somebody
who smoke and we think.
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How could you
continue to do that?
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Don't you know what
it does to your body?
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Let's consider these things
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that our participants
are sharing with us.
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Now the next question we asked
00:10:01.06\00:10:03.23
is what led you to want to quit.
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Let's hear those responses.
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The thing that
made me want to quit
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was that I came in
contact with some Adventist.
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And I had taken Bible studies
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and decided I
wanted to be baptized.
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So I decided I need
not to have that habit.
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And that's what
made me want to stop
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so that I could be baptized.
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Well, for a long time
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I realized that I needed
to quit smoking cigarettes,
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but I didn't
have a strong desire
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until I formed a personal
relationship with Christ.
00:10:43.20\00:10:46.81
And I knew that hurting myself
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and at the time I
had a one year old
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and hurting my son was not
what Christ wanted me to do.
00:10:53.85\00:11:00.26
When I was over in Vietnam,
00:11:00.29\00:11:01.86
I flew in a
helicopter ambulance,
00:11:01.89\00:11:05.19
I was a medic.
00:11:05.23\00:11:06.80
And I came up with the
severe case of bronchitis.
00:11:06.83\00:11:12.53
So to remain on flight
status, I had to quit smoking.
00:11:12.57\00:11:16.84
So we heard those responses.
00:11:18.57\00:11:20.34
What let them to want to quit.
00:11:20.38\00:11:22.91
Now the first one, Brenda,
00:11:22.94\00:11:24.98
she said, "She
met some wonderful
00:11:25.01\00:11:28.28
Seventh-day Adventist Christians
00:11:28.32\00:11:29.88
that she started
doing Bible studies with
00:11:29.92\00:11:32.85
and she decided
that she wanted to quit.
00:11:32.89\00:11:37.56
Just the influence,
00:11:37.59\00:11:38.96
I mean, just thinking
about the influence of others
00:11:38.99\00:11:42.46
within the circle of
somebody who is a smoker,
00:11:42.50\00:11:45.47
having nonsmokers
coming into their circle
00:11:45.50\00:11:48.30
and they're seeing how
they are coping with life
00:11:48.34\00:11:52.77
and the positive, the benefits
of being a nonsmoker that,
00:11:52.81\00:11:57.61
that encouraged her to
also want to do the same.
00:11:57.65\00:12:00.58
Now, we're looking
at Kathleen as well.
00:12:00.62\00:12:02.22
She said that
00:12:02.25\00:12:03.59
she formed a personal
relationship with Christ.
00:12:03.62\00:12:06.02
And not only did she
have a sense of, you know,
00:12:06.05\00:12:10.33
I want to do this
to appease the Lord,
00:12:10.36\00:12:12.19
but also that her
health and her child's health
00:12:12.23\00:12:16.26
was also something that
Christ wanted her to consider.
00:12:16.30\00:12:19.50
When she said, this is
not what Jesus wants me to do.
00:12:19.53\00:12:24.04
So just realizing,
00:12:24.07\00:12:25.41
she's realizing
that connection there
00:12:25.44\00:12:27.84
and that desire
that Christ has for her.
00:12:27.88\00:12:30.45
And then we look at Isaac.
00:12:30.48\00:12:31.98
I like that Isaac was
just a little bit different,
00:12:32.01\00:12:34.02
just so we can see
the different reasons
00:12:34.05\00:12:36.25
why people quit, but he
said, he got bronchitis.
00:12:36.28\00:12:39.02
And that...
00:12:39.05\00:12:41.49
a lot of times it's a trigger
for some people to realize,
00:12:41.52\00:12:45.16
okay, this is
serious, this can happen to me.
00:12:45.19\00:12:47.60
A lot of times we
engage in different behaviors
00:12:47.63\00:12:51.27
thinking that it
won't happen to me
00:12:51.30\00:12:52.90
especially with younger people.
00:12:52.93\00:12:55.40
And so for him, it happening
to him was acute action to say,
00:12:55.44\00:12:59.67
oh, this is not good.
00:12:59.71\00:13:01.04
And then he was at
risk of losing his job.
00:13:01.08\00:13:03.28
So all of these
different factors
00:13:03.31\00:13:05.28
were things that were acute
actions for them to choose,
00:13:05.31\00:13:08.35
hey, it's time.
00:13:08.38\00:13:09.72
It's time to quit.
00:13:09.75\00:13:11.49
The next question that we ask.
00:13:11.52\00:13:14.46
How many times did you quit
before the last time you quit?
00:13:14.49\00:13:18.49
Now the question
was asked that way
00:13:18.53\00:13:20.20
without even asking them
how many times they quit.
00:13:20.23\00:13:22.76
Because a lot of times a
person who successfully quit
00:13:22.80\00:13:26.00
has tried to quit several times
00:13:26.03\00:13:27.70
before their successful attempt.
00:13:27.74\00:13:29.90
So if you are listening today
and you are someone who smokes
00:13:29.94\00:13:33.07
or you know
someone who smokes know.
00:13:33.11\00:13:36.08
And you tried to quit smoking
00:13:36.11\00:13:37.75
and you haven't
done it successfully
00:13:37.78\00:13:39.65
know that, that is very common.
00:13:39.68\00:13:42.55
And the goal is to learn
from the mistakes of the past
00:13:42.58\00:13:46.82
or the not so
successful attempts in the past
00:13:46.86\00:13:48.99
and take from that
00:13:49.02\00:13:50.36
and make the next
attempt even more successful.
00:13:50.39\00:13:54.26
So let's listen
00:13:54.30\00:13:55.63
to their
responses to the question.
00:13:55.66\00:13:58.17
How many times did you quit
before the last time you quit?
00:13:58.20\00:14:02.80
I quit the first time
when I became a member
00:14:02.84\00:14:08.44
of the
Seventh-day Adventist church.
00:14:08.48\00:14:10.81
And I didn't pick it up again,
00:14:10.85\00:14:14.22
I mean, the Lord
actually delivered me
00:14:14.25\00:14:16.95
miraculously from it
00:14:16.99\00:14:19.12
and I didn't pick it
up again for ten years.
00:14:19.15\00:14:22.22
Before I had...
00:14:23.76\00:14:25.09
before I overcame smoking,
it took two times to do that.
00:14:25.13\00:14:29.70
Yeah, when I was
on flight status,
00:14:29.73\00:14:31.67
I needed to quit
00:14:31.70\00:14:33.03
and so I really was able to quit
00:14:33.07\00:14:37.11
cold turkey without any problem.
00:14:37.14\00:14:39.47
I quit for 13 years.
00:14:39.51\00:14:41.91
After that, I slowly
picked the habit back up again
00:14:41.94\00:14:45.88
really by association.
00:14:45.91\00:14:48.78
I had, if you have
hard attempts to quit
00:14:48.82\00:14:50.95
where I would just
stopping for a few hours
00:14:50.99\00:14:53.25
or few like may be a day
00:14:53.29\00:14:55.46
because of guilt, but I didn't
really put my heart into it
00:14:55.49\00:14:59.26
until I decided,
okay, this can happen.
00:14:59.29\00:15:03.83
And I just ask God to take over
00:15:03.87\00:15:06.84
and basically give me a way out.
00:15:06.87\00:15:11.31
Now you heard those responses.
00:15:11.34\00:15:13.61
None of them quit successfully
the very first time.
00:15:13.64\00:15:17.35
Though Kathleen did mention that
00:15:17.38\00:15:19.41
she made many halfhearted
attempts to quit smoking.
00:15:19.45\00:15:22.98
She never officially
said, okay, today is the day,
00:15:23.02\00:15:25.42
I'm quitting smoking.
00:15:25.45\00:15:26.82
That's pretty common
where we find participants
00:15:26.86\00:15:30.36
or those who want to quit,
00:15:30.39\00:15:31.73
they're just kind of
halfheartedly thinking
00:15:31.76\00:15:33.83
one day or maybe
I can try not to,
00:15:33.86\00:15:35.60
but they haven't told anybody,
00:15:35.63\00:15:37.30
they haven't really
made a concrete decision
00:15:37.33\00:15:40.30
to actually quit smoking.
00:15:40.34\00:15:42.04
So again be
encouraged, don't give up.
00:15:42.07\00:15:45.61
The next question,
00:15:45.64\00:15:46.98
I want you to
listen to this answer.
00:15:47.01\00:15:48.74
What led you to keep trying
00:15:48.78\00:15:52.08
after previously not
so successful attempts?
00:15:52.11\00:15:56.28
I don't want to
say the word failure,
00:15:56.32\00:15:57.75
because it's not a failure,
00:15:57.79\00:15:59.12
because we can
continue to keep trying.
00:15:59.15\00:16:01.39
So let's listen
to these responses.
00:16:01.42\00:16:04.13
After the ten years that
I started to smoke again,
00:16:04.16\00:16:10.83
it was guilt and the knowledge
00:16:10.87\00:16:13.64
that cigarettes was
not good for my body
00:16:13.67\00:16:17.27
that made me want to
stop after starting it again.
00:16:17.31\00:16:22.01
So I...
00:16:22.04\00:16:24.75
It was guilt and the willingness
00:16:24.78\00:16:28.88
to not mess my body up that way.
00:16:28.92\00:16:32.89
It was really discouraging,
still having strong cravings
00:16:32.92\00:16:36.89
and still wanting to quit
00:16:36.93\00:16:39.46
and not being there mentally.
00:16:39.49\00:16:43.80
And so I just, I told God
that if he didn't take it away,
00:16:43.83\00:16:48.20
then it was gonna go away.
00:16:48.24\00:16:50.74
Now you heard those responses.
00:16:52.64\00:16:54.71
You heard what Brenda said,
00:16:54.74\00:16:56.28
the guilt of continuing to smoke
00:16:56.31\00:16:58.65
and this is something that
we hear over and over again,
00:16:58.68\00:17:01.48
especially for those who
are coming into the church
00:17:01.52\00:17:06.15
or around a lot of
people who their family members
00:17:06.19\00:17:08.89
who kind of can
make them feel better
00:17:08.92\00:17:10.33
just when they realize that
if this is hurting their body,
00:17:10.36\00:17:13.56
they feel a lot of guilt
that weighs down on them.
00:17:13.60\00:17:16.23
And she said that guilt
00:17:16.26\00:17:17.60
is part of what
encouraged her to keep trying,
00:17:17.63\00:17:20.47
but also just the
willingness of wanting to,
00:17:20.50\00:17:23.64
her body to be healthier.
00:17:23.67\00:17:25.87
I mean, you also
heard from Kathleen,
00:17:25.91\00:17:27.98
I really think
that's interesting
00:17:28.01\00:17:29.34
how she said, "She
had strong cravings."
00:17:29.38\00:17:32.38
But she also had a strong desire
00:17:32.41\00:17:34.22
to want to quit and that
was, you know, a tug of war.
00:17:34.25\00:17:37.82
And I like how
she ended of saying,
00:17:37.85\00:17:39.92
"I told Jesus if He
didn't take it away,
00:17:39.95\00:17:42.26
it wasn't going to go away."
00:17:42.29\00:17:44.49
So you heard those responses.
00:17:44.53\00:17:47.30
And again we want to make
sure that we are sympathetic
00:17:47.33\00:17:51.00
when we have family members,
00:17:51.03\00:17:52.50
our friends who
are trying to quit
00:17:52.53\00:17:54.07
and just to keep
encouraging them.
00:17:54.10\00:17:55.60
If they are not successful,
if you are not successful,
00:17:55.64\00:17:58.24
you can continue to try to quit.
00:17:58.27\00:18:02.88
I'm reminded of
a story of a lady
00:18:02.91\00:18:05.18
that was in one of my classes
00:18:05.21\00:18:07.22
and she came because
she was diagnosed with COPD
00:18:07.25\00:18:13.76
which is a really
rough condition on the lungs.
00:18:13.79\00:18:17.89
And her doctor said that
she had five years to live.
00:18:17.93\00:18:21.00
Mind you she was 35 years old
00:18:21.03\00:18:22.66
and had five children
all under the age of 16.
00:18:22.70\00:18:26.07
So she came to the class
00:18:26.10\00:18:28.10
and she was faithfully attending
00:18:28.14\00:18:29.87
and she was gung
ho about quitting.
00:18:29.90\00:18:32.81
And she made an attempt to quit.
00:18:32.84\00:18:35.54
And I'll never forget, she
came back to class one week
00:18:35.58\00:18:39.01
because it's
their 13-week segments.
00:18:39.05\00:18:41.38
And she just broke out in tears.
00:18:41.42\00:18:43.99
She said, "This was not fair.
00:18:44.02\00:18:47.39
I don't want to quit.
00:18:47.42\00:18:48.96
The doctor just said, I
have to and I'm just not ready."
00:18:48.99\00:18:52.33
And, you know, everybody
kind of hurdled around her
00:18:52.36\00:18:55.73
but one thing that we
had to assure her of was,
00:18:55.76\00:18:59.50
you have to come
when you're ready.
00:18:59.53\00:19:01.04
When it comes to
choosing to quit,
00:19:01.07\00:19:03.84
one and really
important thing is
00:19:03.87\00:19:05.61
nobody can make
this choice for you.
00:19:05.64\00:19:07.74
Or if you're a family member,
you can't make this choice
00:19:07.78\00:19:11.05
for your
grandparent or for your child
00:19:11.08\00:19:13.18
or for your spouse.
00:19:13.21\00:19:14.78
This choice has to be something
that they own or that you own
00:19:14.82\00:19:19.22
before it's something
that will actually stick.
00:19:19.25\00:19:21.92
Now, I'm not sure what happened
to that young lady after that
00:19:21.96\00:19:26.39
but I do know that she
was not ready at that time.
00:19:26.43\00:19:30.87
So don't make your
family members feel bad.
00:19:30.90\00:19:32.80
Let them know that you
are there to support them,
00:19:32.83\00:19:35.30
to encourage them
00:19:35.34\00:19:36.67
and that you're
going to be there for them
00:19:36.71\00:19:38.44
when they're ready
to choose for themselves
00:19:38.47\00:19:41.34
when they want to quit.
00:19:41.38\00:19:43.35
Now let's do a recap
of the salient points
00:19:43.38\00:19:47.42
that we want to
look at and consider
00:19:47.45\00:19:49.58
as we have
listened to the responses
00:19:49.62\00:19:52.39
from our lovely participants
throughout this program.
00:19:52.42\00:19:57.39
We're looking at
00:19:57.43\00:19:59.16
why people actually
choose to start smoking.
00:19:59.19\00:20:03.90
Now, you heard the
different responses
00:20:03.93\00:20:07.84
and we're
wanting to consider this
00:20:07.87\00:20:10.91
because we want to
put our family members,
00:20:10.94\00:20:13.51
especially our
young people in a position
00:20:13.54\00:20:15.51
to where they don't
choose to take that first puff.
00:20:15.54\00:20:18.58
So looking at
their social influences.
00:20:18.61\00:20:22.42
Do they have friends
00:20:22.45\00:20:24.59
that possibly smoke or
friends whose parents smoke?
00:20:24.62\00:20:29.29
Are they in environments
00:20:29.32\00:20:30.73
where they
might have easy access
00:20:30.76\00:20:32.89
to people who
smoke or to cigarettes?
00:20:32.93\00:20:35.96
I have a friend that I remember
him telling me the first time
00:20:36.00\00:20:39.33
he started to smoke,
00:20:39.37\00:20:40.70
he said that he was
dropped off at a party
00:20:40.74\00:20:44.31
when he was in middle school.
00:20:44.34\00:20:46.24
And his parents did not know
00:20:46.27\00:20:48.58
but the child's parents
who was hosting the party
00:20:48.61\00:20:51.71
provided alcohol and
cigarettes to those children,
00:20:51.75\00:20:55.25
middle school
we're talking about.
00:20:55.28\00:20:57.22
And that's when he
began to start smoking
00:20:57.25\00:21:00.46
in middle school
because of the availability
00:21:00.49\00:21:02.92
of those cigarettes there
and a parent choosing to give
00:21:02.96\00:21:05.83
those cigarettes and
alcohol to those children.
00:21:05.86\00:21:08.73
So we want to seriously consider
00:21:08.76\00:21:11.47
who are our child's,
our children's influence,
00:21:11.50\00:21:16.37
their social influences.
00:21:16.40\00:21:18.27
And protect them
00:21:18.31\00:21:19.64
from having that easy
availability to cigarettes
00:21:19.67\00:21:23.18
or any tobacco
products for that matter.
00:21:23.21\00:21:25.85
I'm reminded of another
story, it's kind of silly.
00:21:25.88\00:21:29.98
It was of the
person who trained me
00:21:30.02\00:21:32.22
to become a tobacco
cessation facilitator.
00:21:32.25\00:21:34.96
She said that when she was
younger about the age of five,
00:21:34.99\00:21:38.06
she found one of
her parent's cigarette
00:21:38.09\00:21:40.13
and she took it,
00:21:40.16\00:21:41.66
it was already kind of
00:21:41.70\00:21:43.03
let you know how it's just there
00:21:43.06\00:21:44.40
sitting in the ashtray.
00:21:44.43\00:21:45.77
And she said, "She picked
it up to kind of play with it
00:21:45.80\00:21:48.57
and her dad caught her."
00:21:48.60\00:21:50.41
And he came and he
says, "Oh, you want to smoke."
00:21:50.44\00:21:52.74
And he give it to her to smoke
00:21:52.77\00:21:54.71
and in his mind he was
thinking, he was gonna fix her
00:21:54.74\00:21:57.11
because she would
not be able to handle it,
00:21:57.15\00:21:58.55
she wouldn't like it, she
would never touch it ever again.
00:21:58.58\00:22:01.28
She said that he--
00:22:01.32\00:22:02.65
she took that
thing and she just,
00:22:02.68\00:22:05.59
and her dad looked her and said,
00:22:05.62\00:22:07.06
"Oh, no, what have I done."
00:22:07.09\00:22:09.12
She didn't cough,
she didn't sputter
00:22:09.16\00:22:10.79
or anything.
00:22:10.83\00:22:12.56
Unfortunately, she went on to be
00:22:12.59\00:22:14.73
a four pack a day smoker.
00:22:14.76\00:22:17.50
Now she didn't start
smoking at the age of five,
00:22:17.53\00:22:20.90
but she did pick
it up later in life
00:22:20.94\00:22:22.60
and she just smoked
for four years plus.
00:22:22.64\00:22:25.77
But when she did choose to quit,
00:22:25.81\00:22:28.14
she was such an instrumental
part of our community
00:22:28.18\00:22:31.55
in helping people
learn how to quit.
00:22:31.58\00:22:33.55
She trained me and a
few other individuals
00:22:33.58\00:22:35.82
and we went around our community
00:22:35.85\00:22:38.32
teaching people how to quit.
00:22:38.35\00:22:40.62
Now the reason why I
brought up that story is
00:22:40.66\00:22:45.23
parents have a big role to play
00:22:45.26\00:22:46.59
when it comes into
their kids smoking.
00:22:46.63\00:22:50.27
In part, if they
see parent smoking,
00:22:50.30\00:22:54.14
they're more likely to
want to try it for themselves.
00:22:54.17\00:22:58.47
So as parents we have
a part to play as well.
00:22:58.51\00:23:01.61
So we just want to
consider that as far as our kids
00:23:01.64\00:23:04.61
choosing to when
they start smoking.
00:23:04.65\00:23:07.28
So again, we've kind of
looked at different reasons
00:23:07.32\00:23:10.65
why people choose to start,
00:23:10.69\00:23:12.92
we've kind of
went gone through that
00:23:12.95\00:23:14.42
throughout this program.
00:23:14.46\00:23:15.79
And we must also look at
why people continue to smoke.
00:23:15.82\00:23:20.56
You know, I hate
to put it like this
00:23:20.60\00:23:22.16
but there are
benefits to smoking.
00:23:22.20\00:23:24.60
And if there were no
negative consequences,
00:23:24.63\00:23:27.14
it would seem like that
will be the perfect thing.
00:23:27.17\00:23:29.24
It's like I've heard
people describe it as,
00:23:29.27\00:23:32.07
you know, when you're partying,
it just makes you feel good,
00:23:32.11\00:23:34.81
it relaxes you.
00:23:34.84\00:23:36.18
If you're stressed, it takes
the stressful feeling away,
00:23:36.21\00:23:39.18
just taking that inhalation.
00:23:39.21\00:23:41.62
So it just seems like
there are benefits obviously
00:23:41.65\00:23:44.89
and that's why
people wanted to continue.
00:23:44.92\00:23:47.72
But we know that there are
negative consequences there.
00:23:47.76\00:23:51.23
We know, we all know
00:23:51.26\00:23:52.59
when we can tell
somebody who was a smoker,
00:23:52.63\00:23:54.50
I could tell you
if you're smoker,
00:23:54.53\00:23:56.87
all the benefits and you
could probably tell them all
00:23:56.90\00:23:59.00
back to me and more.
00:23:59.03\00:24:00.90
So why do people
continue to choose to smoke?
00:24:00.94\00:24:05.61
One thing that
we want to consider
00:24:05.64\00:24:07.08
as people will use
this as a coping mechanism.
00:24:07.11\00:24:10.58
We have coping mechanisms.
00:24:10.61\00:24:12.28
Everybody has them.
00:24:12.31\00:24:13.65
So what we want to do is
offer to our family members
00:24:13.68\00:24:17.49
as an example, how do
we cope with our stress.
00:24:17.52\00:24:20.46
How do we cope
with anything negative
00:24:20.49\00:24:23.09
that's going on with our
life, especially our children,
00:24:23.12\00:24:24.93
we want to teach them
appropriate coping skills.
00:24:24.96\00:24:28.26
So that they're
less likely to choose
00:24:28.30\00:24:30.70
like Kathleen cigarettes
00:24:30.73\00:24:33.10
as the reasonable
alternative because as she said,
00:24:33.13\00:24:36.00
I saw that work for some people
and it helped me at that time.
00:24:36.04\00:24:39.51
So definitely
let's consider that.
00:24:39.54\00:24:42.11
Another thing that
we want to bring up is
00:24:42.14\00:24:45.08
what led people to want to quit.
00:24:45.11\00:24:47.02
and how can we be instrumental
00:24:47.05\00:24:48.85
in helping
people to want to quit.
00:24:48.88\00:24:51.59
As you heard from
two of our participants
00:24:51.62\00:24:54.09
as they shared
their personal stories,
00:24:54.12\00:24:55.96
as they came to Christ
00:24:55.99\00:24:57.63
they had a realization
that God wanted more for them
00:24:57.66\00:25:01.50
and God had a
better way for them
00:25:01.53\00:25:03.13
when it came to
quitting smoking,
00:25:03.16\00:25:05.23
and dealing with
their stresses of life.
00:25:05.27\00:25:09.00
And so letting people know that
there are better alternatives,
00:25:09.04\00:25:13.21
alternatives that
do not harm their body
00:25:13.24\00:25:15.71
and showing them by example
00:25:15.74\00:25:17.65
our great ways of encouraging
people to want to quit.
00:25:17.68\00:25:21.92
So if you had a family
member who wants to quit
00:25:21.95\00:25:24.69
or who is
thinking about quitting
00:25:24.72\00:25:26.15
but feels like
they're struggling
00:25:26.19\00:25:27.99
and you really
want to encourage them.
00:25:28.02\00:25:31.16
I advice you don't
take their cigarettes
00:25:31.19\00:25:33.06
and throw them
all in the garbage.
00:25:33.09\00:25:34.63
Don't hide their ashtrays
00:25:34.66\00:25:36.10
and we do all
these little tactics
00:25:36.13\00:25:37.60
in trying to get people to quit,
00:25:37.63\00:25:39.47
but how about by example
or even by explaining to them
00:25:39.50\00:25:42.50
or just talking to them.
00:25:42.54\00:25:44.07
You know, or even
you, if you're a smoker
00:25:44.11\00:25:46.61
think about why do I smoke,
00:25:46.64\00:25:49.04
what leads me to
pick up the cigarette,
00:25:49.08\00:25:51.05
this next
cigarette I'm gonna pick up,
00:25:51.08\00:25:53.01
why am I picking it up.
00:25:53.05\00:25:54.38
Is it because there is
something that has happened
00:25:54.42\00:25:57.02
that I thought
they needed to cope with
00:25:57.05\00:25:58.39
and cigarette is the only way.
00:25:58.42\00:26:00.22
Explore why we're going there
00:26:00.26\00:26:03.16
instead of going
to something else
00:26:03.19\00:26:05.03
whether it's exercise
00:26:05.06\00:26:06.93
or going straight
to our knees to God
00:26:06.96\00:26:09.26
or whatever it is.
00:26:09.30\00:26:11.30
Consider why we're going there?
00:26:11.33\00:26:15.27
Also we want to encourage
our family members, friends,
00:26:15.30\00:26:19.97
or I want to encourage you,
00:26:20.01\00:26:22.01
if you have
tried to quit before,
00:26:22.04\00:26:24.61
know that it's not impossible
00:26:24.65\00:26:28.75
just because you might
have not been successful
00:26:28.78\00:26:30.99
at the last time.
00:26:31.02\00:26:32.35
It's still possible to quit.
00:26:32.39\00:26:34.12
So be encouraged
00:26:34.16\00:26:35.49
that most people do
not quit the first time.
00:26:35.52\00:26:38.39
So don't give up.
00:26:38.43\00:26:40.06
Keep trying, you
will be successful.
00:26:40.10\00:26:43.13
Learn from your past mistakes
00:26:43.16\00:26:45.17
and use those to
make your next attempt
00:26:45.20\00:26:48.47
even more successful.
00:26:48.50\00:26:50.51
And the last question
00:26:50.54\00:26:53.81
what leads you to
keep trying to quit
00:26:53.84\00:26:57.35
even past not being successful.
00:26:57.38\00:27:00.92
I want you to try
this homework assignment.
00:27:00.95\00:27:03.18
If you are somebody who smokes,
00:27:03.22\00:27:05.25
write down a list
of all the benefits
00:27:05.29\00:27:07.09
that you can possibly think of,
00:27:07.12\00:27:10.19
of what would happen to
you if you became a nonsmoker,
00:27:10.23\00:27:12.56
all the wonderful
things that could happen
00:27:12.59\00:27:15.30
from not even having the smell,
00:27:15.33\00:27:18.30
to not having to think about
00:27:18.33\00:27:19.87
where the next
cigarette comes from
00:27:19.90\00:27:21.90
or when you can sneak
away to have a cigarette,
00:27:21.94\00:27:24.41
the cough you may have.
00:27:24.44\00:27:26.88
Even having, you
know, more wrinkle skin
00:27:26.91\00:27:29.24
or whatever it is.
00:27:29.28\00:27:31.28
I want you to
write an exhaustive list,
00:27:31.31\00:27:33.31
just think about all the
things that you can write down
00:27:33.35\00:27:36.18
and focus on that list.
00:27:36.22\00:27:39.15
I want you to look at that
00:27:39.19\00:27:40.66
and not about oh, I can't do it,
00:27:40.69\00:27:42.39
it's not possible.
00:27:42.42\00:27:43.76
I don't even want you
to think about quitting it.
00:27:43.79\00:27:45.49
I just want you to think
about where all the benefits
00:27:45.53\00:27:49.20
that would encourage you
to want to be a nonsmoker.
00:27:49.23\00:27:54.40
Remember, this is
all about choices.
00:27:54.44\00:27:56.97
You have the power to
choose to be a nonsmoker.
00:27:57.01\00:28:00.21